The premise of this sounds like it was handcrafted in a lab just for me. An ambitious queer teen stuck in her small, Southern hometown, embarking on a road trip to hunt down the last, posthumous album from her favorite musician (who was secretly queer, too). I was incredibly excited. From the first few pages, I started getting The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes but make it Dolly Parton, and add a Taylor Swift easter egg-esque time capsule hunt. So many interesting concepts to work with, so I’m sad that this fell flat for me.

I think my biggest issues can be attributed to how little time we got to spend with the characters. It’s already a pretty short book, but then add in the alternating storylines, and I just felt like nobody got the time they deserved. I didn’t feel much chemistry between Darren and Kendall, and they could’ve had a lot of time for development on the road trip. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely did get to know each other better, but I didn’t get the impression that they were so close that a relationship would immediately come of it. I would’ve appreciated a deeper, more fleshed-out connection. Decklee and Mickinlee could’ve been this huge, sweeping, heartbreaking romance of a lifetime, but not only did we not see much of it, it never felt sustainable in the first place (because of the characterization). Maybe that was just me expecting something different from the story than it set out to do, though. I’m also tempted to chalk these issues up to me being too old for YA, but there’s plenty of YA I absolutely love, so maybe this is just on the younger end and I couldn’t connect with it. 

It was still sweet and like I said, the premise is super interesting. Also, I always love queer people in the South coming to terms with their small towns. I appreciate how different perspectives are explored and Southerners aren’t lumped into one reductive stereotype. And the honest portrayal of the sacrifices that come with celebrity and the reality of a ruthless, insatiable appetite for fame and glory were appreciated, as well.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.